I think often of Libya and the Sahara Desert; her images and people haunt my dreams. She taunts me and calls me back to that savage and exotic land; back to a country where I was condemned and estranged because I was different, a country that forbade me to worship my God and stole my freedom.

In a sadistic twist of fate, she also stole my heart like a thief who comes in the dead of night. Even now, years later, she beckons me to return to her desert, she taunts me with her beautiful sea and her mysterious ways.

Her beauty is overcast by the shadow of her rage and cruel nature that wanted to destroy me, because I was different and could not live in her oppression and fought for my freedom.

Was it because I was a woman that she hated me, because I was an American who fought for freedom, or because I refused to worship Allah and found my God in her desert?

Alas, I will never know why she hated me so, but in her hatred I found her beauty, a beauty that I will never forget as her name lingers on my lips.

I pray my words will find you well and I thank you in advance for reading my words. May God bless you.

I was lost and forsaken, broken and crushed, torn and shredded, terrorized and destructed. My soul was enveloped in darkness; my spirit near death. Libya was not my home, Allah was not my God. However, it was in the Sahara I found the will to live; it was in the desert where I found my God.

Forbidden Prayers by Alexandria Pearl & Gwenevere Elliott

This is the story of my life; a compilation of my memories and dreams. Not only will you read about my life and my struggles with my God; you will also see Libyana through my eyes. This story has been fictionalized for personal and security reasons but amongst the fiction you will find a wealth of truth.

During my entrapment in the Sahara, I made notes and records but numerous times my material was seized and destroyed. Consequently, I encrypted the many exotic and foreign aromas, sights, sounds, tastes, and textures of Libyana into my memory. Storing that information seemed easy; it was the retrieval process that became complicated.

My God granted and bestowed blessings upon me, even though I wasn?t deserving of His love. It was when I received God?s mercy and grace that He placed a desire upon my heart to forgive those individuals who had hurt and betrayed me. It was then I found the courage to write and publish this book.

"Forbidden Prayers" is now available readily over the internet. After a tortured and fearful life in America, Olivia is anxious to escape an abusive and destructive husband. In a desperate attempt to rid herself of him, Olivia makes a naïve alliance with his family who lives overseas. The family has heard the disturbing news about their son’s illegal activities, his problems with the government, and the numerous warrants issued against him. Olivia agrees to take her husband to Malta for a wedding; once there the family will take her husband back to his homeland and she and her children will be free to return to America. However, once she enters foreign soil she is tricked into entering an oppressed Islamic society.

Held in Libya against her will; Olivia tries to escape numerous times and each time she is caught and punished. In her weakened state, Olivia becomes violently ill and is unable to protect her children. She watches helplessly as her children are used as pawns and their beauty and American heritage further her husband’s quest for power and lust for money. Heart broken and dejected one evening while in the Sahara Desert, Olivia calls out to her God and surrenders her life and will back to the God she had known as a child. But in doing so she fears her death is imminent; Olivia fervently teaches her children about Jesus using stories and songs she had learned as a small child. Even her exotic and beautiful children know the dangers of mentioning the name of Jesus in an Islamic society; to pray to any other God besides Allah is forbidden. Olivia and her children pray and learn about Jesus in hiding realizing that at any moment they could be caught and punished, or even worse.

Hugs & Prayers
Ciao!
Alex

(Pat) if you read this I promise I'll submit another story just for you. xoxo

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW

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